part 3
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scrapbook_2.docxRunning head: PEER PRESSURE AND HUMAN CLONING 1
PEER PRESURE AND HUMAN CLONING 21
Peer and Cloning
UMUC
Part 2
SECTION ONE
Chapter 6: Becoming a parent
Topic of further research: Human cloning.
Introduction
In the recent past, debate on human cloning have rapidly increased. Even though it not yet clear if human cloning is possible or not, many people have raised concerns about human cloning. Many countries across the world have banned any form of human cloning with Britain alone still practicing it for medical purposes only. In chapter 6 of parenting: Dynamic perspective the author indicate that cloning is technology is improving and that it is possible to clone human beings in future. This assay looks at the extent to which cloning might become a possibility in future.
The following article by Gautam Naik sheds some light in to the whole process and extent to which cloning in human and animals have reached. His article can be retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324082604578485064174222502
Experiment Brings Human Cloning One Step Closer
Scientists have used cloning technology to transform human skin cells into embryonic stem cells, an experiment that may revive the controversy over human cloning. WSJ's Gautam Naik reports. Photo: OHSU
By
Gautam Naik
Updated May 15, 2013 9:40 p.m. ET
Scientists have used cloning technology to transform human skin cells into embryonic stem cells, an experiment that may revive the controversy over human cloning.
The researchers stopped well short of creating a human clone. But they showed, for the first time, that it is possible to create cloned embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to the person from whom they are derived.
These stem cells could go on to differentiate into heart, nerve, muscle, bone and all the other tissue types that make up a human body.
The process of human cloning
Since the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996, researchers have cloned about 20 species, including rabbits, goats, cows and cats. Yet they have been unable to create biologically identical copies of any monkey or primate, including humans, possibly because their reproductive biology is more complicated.
But the refinements described Wednesday in the latest experiment suggest that "it's a matter of time before they produce a cloned monkey," said Jose Cibelli, a cloning expert at Michigan State University, who wasn't involved in the study. It also means, he added, "that they are one step closer to where the efficiency is high enough that someone is willing to try" to clone a person, though that remains a distant—and to some, disturbing—prospect.
The experiment was published online in the journal Cell. It was funded by Oregon Health and Science University and a grant from Leducq Foundation of France.
Stem cell colony developed through cloning. Oregon Health & Science University
The researchers weren't simply trying to reach a cloning milestone. Instead, they were looking for a better way to make fresh human tissue for the treatment of severe injuries or disease. Lab-grown tissue has the potential to transform medicine, though it is still a long way from routine clinical use. For example, fresh nerve cells could alleviate spinal-cord injuries, or newly made heart cells could repair a site scarred by a heart attack.
One way to harvest fresh tissue is from human embryos. That is controversial because the embryos get destroyed in the process. Another way is to reprogram mature cells into an embryonic-like state, which can then be turned into other tissues of the body. But this method is relatively new and has yet to yield consistent results.
A third approach is to use cloning, as described in the Cell paper. This technique can yield fresh tissue that is an exact genetic match for the patient for whom it is intended.
The scientists first removed the DNA from an unfertilized human egg, and then inserted a patient's mature skin cell—containing the patient's DNA—into that egg. Next, they prompted a chemical reaction, causing the cells to fuse and begin development.
That led to a blastocyst, a hollow ball of 50 to 100 cells. For a fetus to form, the blastocyst must be implanted in a womb. An inner clump of cells in the blastocyst goes on to form the embryo, while an outer layer goes on to make the placenta.
For the tissue-growing experiment, the researchers focused on the clump of cells containing embryonic stem cells.
With the help of certain "growth" chemicals, they were able to transform the stem cells into "various cell lines and tissues, including beating human heart cells," said Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a developmental biologist at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore., and a lead author of the study.
The achievement is a long way from creating a cloned human embryo. Even if the entire blastocyst had been implanted into a womb, it wouldn't have yielded a human clone. The blastocyst was "missing a few cell types that it would need to implant" and was suffering other deficiencies, said Dr. Mitalipov.
Never mind the prospect of cloned humans; despite years of experiments, scientists have failed to clone monkeys.
Dr. Mitalipov said his lab had tried transplanting entire blastocysts into a monkey's womb, but those experiments hadn't yielded a single successful pregnancy.
"We don't know why this is," said Dr. Mitalipov. "You can make embryonic stem cells, but it doesn't mean the embryo will implant."
He speculates that one reason why it may be more difficult to clone monkeys and humans is because the egg cells are more fragile than those of other species.
Dr. Mitalipov's main goal is to use cloning to treat illnesses. He next plans to use lab-made tissue and see if he can successfully treat a degenerative, blindness-causing eye disease in monkeys.
Summary
The act of human cloning has generated a lot of controversies concerning the use human tissues in experiments either aiming at solving complex medical problems or developing new human being without fertilization. Human cloning have not however been possible but there are some major development in cloning technology which might enable scientists to develop human beings through cloning.
Since the year 1996, when the first cloned sheep was successfully cloned, scientist have successfully cloned more than 20 different animal species including rabbits and cows. Their efforts have, however, been unsuccessful coming up with identical copies of human beings and monkeys. This is because of the complexity if their reproductive system, whose eggs cells are more fragile unlike in those of other species.
Latest research in cloning have, however, showed that it is possible to create cloned embryonic stem cells which are similar in their genetic makeup to those of the individual donating it. Biological differentiation in these stem cells can lead to final development of human’s body tissues such as heart, muscles, and bones etc.
There are three known methods which can be used to induce human cloning. Two of this methods however servers from some major setbacks. In the first method, a fresh tissue can be removed from human tissue so that it can be used for cloning. The main challenge to this process is that embryos always get destroyed when they are being removed. Another new method which can used, is reprograming cells which are mature so that in can be in embryonic-like state. This method, however, does not show results which are consistent and therefore not reliable.
The third method involves removal of DNA from unfertilized human egg, then replacing it with a mature cell with the same DNA into the egg. The resulting blastocyst from this method, however, lacks some all cells which are required for it to be implanted into the womb and to come up with a cloned human being.
Apart from above challenges facing human cloning, there are a number of advantages and disadvantage of human cloning and general coning of all organisms. These pros and cons can be retrieved from the following website. http://thenextgalaxy.com/12-disadvantages-and-advantages-of-human-cloning/. It is titled, 12 Disadvantages and Advantages of human cloning. The following are the advantages and disadvantage discussed in the article.
Advantages
1. It can be used to improve medical practice, which can lead to cure of terminal diseases
2. It can be used by infertile couple to come up with their own biological children
3. It can be used to eliminate defects before a child is born
4. It can be used to prolong human life.
5. It can be used to create organs which can be transplanted back to an individual
Disadvantages
1. The fear of unknown. It might lead to development of new illness which might be catastrophic to human survival
2. There is lower level of success rates in this field
3. It has generated moral and ethical problems
4. It is likely to bring division in the society resulting to discrimination between those cloned and those not cloned (Anonymous, n.d.)
Topic which needs further studies in chapter 6. Genetic testing.
Further studies on this topic should be done to show how genetic testing could be important in parenting. Is there any way that genetic testing can help raise a child in a better way? What are possible advantage and disadvantage of genetic testing to unborn child?
SECTION 2.
Chapter 8: Parenting: The middle childhood years
Topic of further research: peer.
Introduction
Parenting is a difficult task which require children’s parents and guardians to be careful when they are raising their children. This is because environments play a key role in shaping their behavior too. External environment such as schools and children’s playgrounds have a potential of developing new characters which can be either beneficial or destructive to the child, parents, family and the entire society. Through peer pressure, children imitate their friends.
Additional information about peer pressure can be retrieved from https://www.parentmap.com/article/peer-pressure-why-it-seems-worse-than-ever-and-how-to-help-kids-resist-it.
Peer Pressure: Why It Seems Worse Than Ever and How to Help Kids Resist It
This image shows how those who are strong enough to resist negative peer pressure end up feeling.
A Kenmore mom of three, Mandie Neher hadn’t expected her children to face complex group dynamics and outright peer pressure in elementary school.
But that’s what happened.
At the beginning of the last school year, one of her daughter Emma’s third-grade classmates brought Binaca breath spray to school, which isn’t allowed. This classmate and a few others went about coercing peers to break the rules by using the minty spray. “They said things like ‘Just try it’ and ‘Come on, it’s not going to hurt you,’” says Neher. If someone refused, which Emma did, “they were called names and told that nobody would be their friend.”
“We were floored,” says Neher. “We never expected these types of situations or these conversations at such a young age.”
Parents anticipate peer pressure when their children are teenagers. But in elementary school?
Count on it. Research shows that peer pressure begins well before adolescence — a new study from the University of Maryland found that children recognize the value of group loyalty and feel social pressure as early as age 9.
The age-old problem of peer pressure has a few new wrinkles: Besides starting earlier, it’s happening at lightning speed and on an unprecedented scale, fueled by social media. And today’s children may be less equipped to resist peer pressure, thanks to overprotective “helicopter parents.”
But increasingly, experts are saying that peer pressure may not deserve its bad rap. So-called “positive” peer pressure can actually help tweens and teens resist drinking, smoking and other negative behaviors — the very same things that negative peer pressure can incite them to try. And your parenting practices can help determine whether peer pressure is your child’s friend or foe.
The new peer pressure
Peer pressure is certainly alive and well among today’s teens: Ninety percent of teens admit to being influenced or pressured by peers. Nearly three-quarters say that giving in to peer pressure has boosted their social standing. And peer pressure influences behavior at a younger age than previously thought. In a recent study, researchers at the University of Southern California expected to find that pressure from peers to smoke cigarettes peaks in high school. Instead, they discovered that pressure to smoke is greater in middle school than in high school.
And it’s not just smoking: Pressure from peers motivates nearly every type of negative behavior, from unsafe driving to sex to bullying. Nearly half of teens admit they drive more responsibly without the influence of friends in the car, according to a study by the Allstate insurance company. Researchers from Temple University found that teens run 40 percent more yellow lights and have 60 percent more accidents when friends are passengers. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that one-third of teenage boys and nearly a quarter of teenage girls feel pressured to have sex.
Peer pressure may play a major role in bullying behavior, too. A study by Parent Further found that half of teens said they’d picked on someone after seeing a peer do the same.
Virtual peers
But experts say the biggest factor in modern peer pressure is social networking via websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, used by some 90 percent of American teens, according to Common Sense Media . A recent national study by the Prevention Research Center of Michigan found that teens’ alcohol and drug use is influenced by what they see in their Facebook news feed: The more alcohol-related photos and posts teens saw from friends on social networking sites, the more often they drank alcohol themselves.
This “virtual peer pressure” is new peer pressure, says Orly Katz, Ph.D., a youth empowerment and life skills expert and author of Peer Pressure vs. True Friends! Surviving Junior High . On Facebook, children can reject and blacklist others, encourage hate groups and ostracize others instantly, she says. “If in the past, only your child’s class knew if he was ostracized, today, with Facebook, everyone knows, everyone can see it and everyone reads it right now!”
In the churning, frothy Facebook world, numbers are power, says Katz. Children collect friends and “likes” to demonstrate their popularity and influence — which can be used to pressure peers with a few keystrokes. Behind a screen, a bully has power, particularly a bully with lots of Facebook friends.
This image shows how easy it can be to influence some to do what, he/she do not always do.
“Everything is assessed through this cold and stressful numerical measure — how many friends someone has, or how many likes or comments. People barely focus on content, only on figures,” she says.
The worst way social media pressures tweens and teens is that it normalizes “bad” behavior, says Rosalind Wiseman, parenting educator and author of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World , the book on which the movie Mean Girls was based.
“It makes it seem like everyone is doing it, whatever ‘it’ happens to be. It could be taking sexually provocative pictures of yourself and sending them to someone you have a crush on or it could be forwarding that same picture to all your friends.”
'Heli-parents'
When it comes to resisting peer pressure, today’s kids have a few advantages. Parents’ influence is as strong as ever, says Jennifer Heckard, a Tacoma-based middle school teacher and mom of two school-age children. “I see kids the same age as mine and in high school who are really talking to parents and church communities. They want to hear what non-peers say.”
Many of today’s kids are close to their parents — sometimes in constant contact, thanks to the ubiquity of cell phones. As of 2013, 78 percent of teens own a cell phone, and nearly half of parents use a mobile phone to track their teen’s location. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 70 percent of teens report talking on the phone to their parents daily. Parents are communicating with their kids and keeping tabs on them. So why does peer pressure still have such a strong hold?
A trend toward overprotective “helicopter parenting” may be partly to blame, says Katz. Although statistics on helicopter parenting are difficult to come by, one study presented at the 2010 Association of Psychological Science Convention in Boston found that 10 percent of parents qualify for the title; multiple studies show that educated parents are spending more and more time actively parenting — in other words, hovering over — their children.
Katz believes that children of helicopter parents cope less effectively with peer pressure than other children. Helicopter parents “hover” and do almost everything for their offspring, says Katz. “They have difficulty setting limits for their children, which, in turn, makes it hard for these children to set limits for their friends.”
The second challenge: Kids aren’t the only ones dealing with peer pressure, says Wiseman. Parents feel pressure from their peers, too, and when kids witness their parents “keeping up with the Joneses,” it reinforces their impulse to follow the crowd. “Adults don’t like to admit to anyone, including themselves, that they aren’t above being pressured by their peers. If our kids see us in relationships of unequal power and influence, they’re going to believe our actions more than our words.”
Combined, these reasons make it pretty easy for young people to disregard any well-meaning advice we’re giving them about peer pressure, Wiseman says.
Positively pressured
Peer pressure isn’t all bad, though. According to Tina Rosenberg, author of Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World , peer pressure can motivate positive personal changes — such as meeting a weight-loss goal — along with large-scale, sweeping social movements, such as civil rights and gender equality.
Research from Middlesex University in London found that positive peer pressure prevented binge drinking in 14- and 15-year-olds; another U.K. study found that a grassroots antismoking campaign employing positive peer pressure curbed teen smoking more effectively than typical fear-based appeals.
Today’s youth are known for being more environmentally and civically minded, says clinical psychologist Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., of Harrison, N.Y. “Peers can positively influence other peers to volunteer, work toward becoming more ‘green,’ stay away from drugs and alcohol, and thrive in their academics and goals.”
Positive peer pressure helps maintain self-confidence and a sense of belonging and meaning, says Katz. “And more importantly, it’s more fun for your child to have good friends with similar values.”
Depressurizing
So how can parents help children resist negative peer pressure? First, look for signs that peer pressure is becoming a problem, says Maidenberg. These can include changes in attitude, withdrawal from parents and family activities, sudden materialism, or intense interest in “taboo” behaviors or possessions.
In other words, if your 8-year-old begins begging for a cell phone or a trendier backpack as soon as school resumes in the fall, it’s probably not a coincidence or a passing phase — she’s responding to social influences and a desire to fit in, the precursors of peer pressure.
“Virtual” peer pressure on social networks can be trickier to fight, simply because parents may not see it. A major educational campaign is in order to educate children and teens about resisting online peer pressure and wielding electronic influence wisely, says Katz.
But there is something parents can do today to protect their children online: Connect to their child’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr accounts — immediately. The key is not waiting until we sense danger or exposure to abuse, says Katz. “Don’t remain passive, because passivity will come back to haunt you when it comes to virtual peer pressure.”
A strong parental presence has a protective effect against peer pressure. In a study published in Developmental Psychology, middle-school-age children without adult supervision were more swayed by peer pressure to engage in antisocial behavior. “In general, when children are appropriately supervised by adults and adults are actively involved in their lives, both at a physical and emotional level, they are less susceptible to peer pressure,” says Maidenberg.
Mandie Neher took swift action when she noticed peer-related changes in Emma’s behavior last year. “She consistently had a bad attitude after hanging out at certain friends’ homes. I couldn’t take the talking back, disrespect and ‘know it all’ attitude,” says Neher. She started limiting playdates with those friends and encouraging friendships with different children, ones who didn’t seem to have the same negative influence on Emma. “We’re now much more critical of her friends — and their parents!”
Malia Jacobson is a nationally published parenting journalist and mom of three.
Summary
Malia Jacobson, in her article ‘Peer Pressure: Why It Seems Worse Than Ever and How to Help Kids Resist It’, she explains how peer pressure among children who are as young as 8 year old can be powerful in shaping their behavior. She explore the current trend where children can submit to peer pressure nowadays unlike in the past.
In her article, Malia shows various negative behaviors which children imitate from their peers. This behaviors include smoking and early engagement in sex. Apart from traditional face to face interaction among children which result to peer pressure, Malia point out that a new form a pressure as developed. Virtual pressure. This type of pressure takes place through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumbler. When photos related to alcohol and other drugs are posted on social media news feed, children are encouraged to try them. Additionally, negative images such as sexually provocative photos posted makes children think that it is normal behavior since everyone is doing it.
She points out that despite such pressures, current children have some advantage in resisting peer pressure. This include the closeness between children and parents enabled by use of mobile phones. Despite this advantage, peer pressure is still a common and even stronger phenomena. First, this could be because of modern ‘helicopter’ parenting where parents do not set limit to their children. As a result, children too, fails to set acceptable standards limits to their friends. Secondly, children see their parents conforming to peer pressure.
Peer pressure can sometimes be positive, thus helping children and the whole society to maintain confidence in themselves. When peer pressure is positive children can shy away from alcohol and drugs. This can also help them remain focused in their education and goals.
For parents to effectively deal with peer pressure, they need to first identify signs showing that their child/children have been pressurized. This sign include, excess interest in unwanted behavior or materials, changes in attitude, distancing themselves from family activities and parents, and sudden materialism. To avoid pressure from social media, parents should connect themselves to their children’s social media accounts. Indeed, strong presence of parents in children’s affairs is very helpful in protecting children against peer pressure.
This article support the topic in the text by giving relatively modern forms of peer pressure and how to solve them. It is possible that by the time the text was written this new types of peer pressure had not developed to such an alarming state that it has now reached.
Additional information about this topic can be retrieved from http://pain.com/archives/2014/12/23-peer-pressure-social-media/. In an article titled peer pressure and Social media, the author explain that social media plays a major role in making people remain connected to sources of pressure in their lives. Websites, social media sites, text messages allow children to stay in contact even after school. In this way, they are able to insert peer pressure to each other despite the fact that they are not physically close to each other.
In this article, a study done is given. In this study, 75 percent of young people questioned admit that they felt desire to drink and smoke marijuana after seeing picture posted on social networks. Such pictures makes things look they are easy to do, fun and attractive (Anonymous, n.d.)
Further research should be done on marital dissolution and aftermath. This is because the text did not show enough effect that these events can have on children. This is because the text in the chapter just mention problem which might arise in case of a divorce. The text, however, did not touch on the recommendation to parents on how they should deal with such cases.
References
Anonymous. (n.d.). 12 Disadvantages and Advantages of Human Cloning | Samsung Galaxy Blog. Retrieved from http://thenextgalaxy.com/12-disadvantages-and-advantages-of-human-cloning/
Anonymous. (n.d.). Peer Pressure and Social Media pain.com. Retrieved from http://pain.com/archives/2014/12/23-peer-pressure-social-media/
George, W., & Holden. (2009). Parenting: A dynamic perspective. California, CA: SAGE publication.
Jacobson, M. (2015, August 29). Peer Pressure: Why It Seems Worse Than Ever and How to Help Kids Resist It - ParentMap. Retrieved from https://www.parentmap.com/article/peer-pressure-why-it-seems-worse-than-ever-and-how-to-help-kids-resist-it
Naik, G. (2013, May 15). Experiment Brings Human Cloning One Step Closer - WSJ. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324082604578485064174222502
